Partners
by fredesrojo
Summary: Because we all need some laughs, sometimes.


"Now if you'll just grab Cap'n Raydor 'round the neck there, Lt. Flynn, we can get this demonstration goin'."

The simultaneously saccharine and caustic tones of Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson broke through the disinterested fugue Sharon Raydor presented to the Major Case Squad as they stood in the murder room going over the details of a joint FID/Major Case investigation. She jumped, moving swiftly away from Andy Flynn, who appeared over her shoulder. "Wait, what are you doing?"

She fought down a (mostly) irrational wave of panic that they were all going to succumb to their (supposedly) secret desire to kill her, keeping Flynn well within her line of sight as she waited for the punchline from the blonde.

"We're tryin' to prove Officer Adams' statement about the shootin', Cap'n, if you were following along."

Raydor bit back a scowl at the implied insult in the Chief's tone, eyeing Flynn edgily as she spoke. "I understood that, _Chief_, but I don't see what that has to do with Flynn strangling me."

The blonde huffed, pushing her glasses up her nose angrily as she flipped open a file on Sgt. Gabriel's desk, reading snippily from the statement inside. "Office Adams claimed that the man he shot pointed his gun at him when the girl broke free, and he perceived the threat as an attack, thus justifying his shootin' the suspect. We need to prove such a move would be possible. Lt. Flynn is…around the same height and build as our victim, and you're close enough to Ms. Jimenez to help with the re-enactment." She smiled dangerously, gesturing imperiously to Flynn again. "Now, if you'll just grab her, Lt., we'll get this show on the road."

The brunette frowned, shaking her head slowly. "I don't think this is a—," She broke off suddenly as Flynn loomed at her side, reaching around to grab her in a light headlock. "Hey!"

He huffed a short breath of laughter into the back of her neck, his grin audible in his voice. "Relax, Sharon, it's just a re-enactment."

She scowled, her hands reaching up to tug ineffectually at his arm. "Still doesn't mean its very comf—," Sharon yelped as he tightened his hold, muffling the last of her complaint.

Flynn muffled another chuckle in the wild mane of hair in front of his face, glancing around to get direction. "Alright, Chief…where do we go from here?"

Johnson seemed to be fighting back the overwhelming urge to laugh as she consulted the file in front of her. "Let's see…Officer Adams claims that the suspect—oh, excuse me, Cap'n…I mean your victim—was standin' a little closer to Ms. Jiminez, his left foot between hers, and he held the gun just below her jaw on the left."

She glared at the murder room at large as Flynn moved to comply, pressing his body against hers from the back and slipping a thin ballpoint pen in the hand not locked around her neck to emulate a gun. "Chief, this is ridiculous."

"Well, we're only tryin' to assist in your investigation here, Cap'n." The blonde smiled another too-sweet smile, the pronounced drawl in her voice grating on Sharon's nerves. "I mean…you _do_ have a deadline, and I would hate to impede the progress of your investigation."

Sharon rolled her eyes. "Not what I meant, Chief."

With a quick fluid motion, she shifted her weight right, stomping on Flynn's exposed foot and ramming her elbow into his gut before ducking his suddenly loose hold and twisting his left hand away from her body at the thumb, disarming him in the process. Flynn howled in pain, struggling to break his hand free of her grip. Sharon brushed a few stray hairs out of her face with her free hand and smirked slightly. "If Ms. Jiminez broke free from Alonso Torres' hold in any way similar to what I just did with Flynn, Mr. Torres' gun would have ended up pointed at Officer Adams in both Jimenez and Torres' hands…making this basically murder by cop." The brunette raised her eyebrows at the room at large, ignoring Flynn's muted swearing and attempts to escape her grip.

The Chief's eyes narrowed as she took in the ballpoint pen, enclosed in both of their hands pointing directly at her. "So you're sayin' there's more to the story than Ms. Jiminez is lettin' on."

She dropped his hand, adjusting her glasses on her face as she nodded. "While this may justify Officer Adams' shooting, I'd say Ms. Jiminez has some explaining to do, Chief." Her point proven, and her case essentially closed, Sharon Raydor straightened her blazer, grabbed her files, and calmly walked out of the murder room.

* * *

><p>Andy Flynn found her a few hours later, sitting in her office wearily going through reports. He leaned in the doorway, rapping his knuckles in a light rhythm on the doorframe. "Hey."<p>

Sharon flicked her gaze up momentarily, the line of her mouth thinning at his appearance. "Lt. Flynn." She sighed, dropping her pen and stretching her hands with a low ripple of pops. "To what do I owe the…honor?"

Flynn shrugged, scuffing the toe of his shoe against the carpeted floor of her office. "I…uh…we were going out to celebrate the end of the case. Murphy's." He raised a hand to scratch at the back of his neck, offering a tentative smile. "I was wondering if you wanted to come along."

She narrowed her eyes, adjusting her glasses with a wry smirk. "You sure you want that? Bringing along the Wicked Witch probably won't endear you to your colleagues."

"What?" His eyes widened at her dry retort, mind fumbling for an intelligent sounding answer. "N—no, they don't…" Flynn shook his head abruptly, starting again. "No, the Chief invited you along. Sort of a, uh…well, thank you for helping solve the case."

"Chief Johnson?" Her eyebrows rose at the incredulousness of his statement. "Chief Johnson invited _me_ along to celebrate the end of your case."

"Um, yeah."

Raydor took a deep breath, rubbing a tired hand over her face. "Well…while the invitation is, um, nice, I think I'll pass."

Abruptly, he sighed and stepped fully into her office, closing the door behind him. "Look, Sharon, I'd uh…I'd really like it if you came along."

She tilted her head quizzically. "Why?"

"I—uh…" For once, Andy Flynn was at a loss for words. He scratched the back of his head again, a sheepish gesture that sparked a vague familiarity in her mind, a faint memory of their times in Robbery-Homicide, before she got promoted to FID and bigger things. Sharon sighed quietly as she waited for Flynn to gather his thoughts. "Andy, seriously, what is this about?"

"I just thought you might like to tag along and celebrate, y'know, like we did back in RHD." His shoulders slumped a little at the admission.

"But we're both definitely _not_ in RHD, Flynn, and we both know my presence at this… celebration is not really as welcomed as you may have me believe."

Exasperated, Flynn threw up his hands. "I'm trying to mend some fences here, Sharon, and so is the Chief. It'd be nice if you'd actually meet us in the middle."

She blinked, taken aback. "Oh."

He sighed. "Yeah. So…are you coming?"

After a long pause, she closed the file in front of her and stood, gathering her jacket and bag. "I suppose, in the interest of mutual respect, that I could come…for a little while."

Flynn grinned easily. "That's all I was asking for, Ray."

She chuckled ruefully at the reminder of her old nickname. "No one's called me Ray in years."

He smiled and held out a hand. "Maybe it's time someone did again."

Sharon took it after a slight pause, gracing him with a smile of her own. "Shall we?"

* * *

><p>"Flynn! Finally!" Provenza's voice rose above the crowd in the bar, drawing their attention to a table in the corner. The old detective waved vigorously, motioning to two empty seats in the corner booth. "Pick me up a fresh drink while you're up, will ya?"<p>

Andy rolled his eyes and steered them to the bar, his hand falling to the small of Sharon's back to guide her. "Pick your poison, Ray."

"Oh, I'm not…"

"One drink can't hurt, Sharon." He turned, flagging down the bartender. "Cranberry and soda, a Bud, and whatever that old guy in the corner had." He tossed a few bills on the bar, turning to look at his companion with a faint grin turning the corners of his mouth up.

She blinked, surprised. "You still remember my drink order."

"Well, yeah, we were partners for the better part of six years, Ray." He collected the drinks and gestured for her to lead the way. "You don't forget that sort of stuff."

She smiled over her shoulder, slipping between drunken revelers. "Thank you, Andy."

"Cap'n!" Johnson's voice rose the requisite octave as she spoke, gesturing to the empty seat at her immediate left. "We're so glad you could come."

Flynn sidled past her to put the drinks down, giving an exaggerated eye roll as he passed her field of vision. Sharon bit back a smirk and sank into the offered seat, reaching over to grab her beer. "It's, um…nice of you to invite me, Chief."

"Well, you helped us close our case, Cap'n." The blonde smiled disarmingly, sipping at a rather large glass of wine. "And we can occasionally play well with others, you know."

_Don't say it…don't, Sharon, they're trying to extend an olive branch here…_ She smirked, thumb absently tracing patterns on the label of her bottle. "Could've fooled me."

Andy snorted into his drink, muffling his laughter into an odd half cough. The Chief looked somewhat taken aback, her eyebrows high over wide and surprisingly sincere eyes.

"Kidding." Sharon smiled faintly, leaning back in her chair. "Sort of."

The ensuing ripple of laughter from the occupants of the table seemed to diffuse the tension. Johnson raised her eyebrow, finally tilting her head in a small nod. "Wouldn't have guessed that you had such a wicked sense of humor, Captain."

"Why, because I've got such a huge broomstick up my ass? I can be funny when I want to, Chief." Sharon laughed quietly, nodding her head towards Flynn. "You can thank that one…he sort of shoved me out of my shell when we were partners."

Sanchez chuckled. "You were partners with Flynn, and you _didn't_ run away screaming?"

"Nah, just got promoted faster than he did."

Lt. Tao leaned in from his position in the corner of the booth, his expression earnest. "So, Captain, tell us…how _did _you beat Flynn like that this morning?"

Sharon grinned dangerously, leaning back. "Actually…Andy was the one who taught me how to disarm someone like that."

"So wait, let me get this straight." Gabriel leaned forward to set his elbows on the table. "Flynn got his ass handed to him with his own _move_?"

Flynn groaned, dropping his head to the table with a thud as the table erupted in laughter.

* * *

><p><strong><em>an: Hey all, new show, new fic to be posted.  
>Um, not much to say, I've watched The Closer from the beginning seasons, and I actually love Raydor as a character. (Plus, Mary McDonnell kicks ass as an actress, I love her work in Battlestar Galactica.)<br>Reviews are great!_**

**_-meg _**


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